Jobs report hits fiscal cliff debate

New jobs numbers handed President Barack Obama fresh evidence for his strongest argument in fiscal cliff talks: His prescriptions have been healing the economy.

Slowly, surely, but it’s moving in the right direction, say Democrats, who used the November numbers — 146,000 new jobs and the unemployment rate at a 47-month low of 7.7 percent — to reiterate their call for freezing income tax rates for most Americans while increasing marginal rates for the wealthiest taxpayers.

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“It is critical that we continue the policies that are building an economy that works for the middle class as we dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the severe recession that began in December 2007,” Alan B. Krueger, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said. “Most pressing, President Obama has proposed, and the Senate has passed, an extension of middle-class income tax cuts that would prevent the typical middle-class family from facing a $2,200 tax increase at the beginning of next year.”

The positive report gives Obama a bit more momentum just a month after he won a second term, and it strengthens his hand in negotiations with House Speaker John Boehner over a new deficit-reduction deal that would supersede the “fiscal cliff” of broad spending cuts and tax increases due to take effect next month.

Like an NFL quarterback who takes all the blame for a loss and all the credit for a win, Obama is now the primary political beneficiary of a slightly brighter economic picture.

Investors reacted positively to the news with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up slightly in morning trading.

Jobs numbers are always a bit of a political Rorschach test. Democrats and Republicans see what they want in the Labor Department’s data, and Republicans say raising taxes on the wealthy would threaten a fragile economic recovery.

“When a store manager is short staffed because looming tax hikes and uncertainty are stalling her hiring, that’s not right,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said. “When 7.7% is cause for celebration, we know there is more work to be done. We must do better.”

Democrats counter that Republicans are risking just that outcome by holding up tax cuts for the overwhelming majority of Americans to bargain for the top 2 percent. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called out Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for that and for again using the debt limit as a political leverage point.

“The steps we need to take to keep our economy moving in the right direction are simple. Speaker Boehner should pass the Senate’s middle-class tax cut bill immediately, and Senator McConnell should allow an up-or-down vote on his own proposal to give the president the authority to avoid default by raising the debt ceiling,” Reid said.

McConnell has suggested that Congress give the president the power to raise the debt ceiling, with Congress retaining the right to vote down the increase if it so chooses. But in an odd parlay on the Senate floor this week, McConnell called for a vote on the president’s version of his debt ceiling plan expecting Democrats to object because they did not have the votes to pass the White House proposal.

But confident he indeed had the needed 51 votes, Reid said he was ready to proceed. McConnell then backtracked saying Republicans would only allow a vote if 60 votes was the threshold.

THE CLIFF DEBATE

Republicans want current rates extended for all taxpayers and are reluctant to extend the rates for only the middle class first before a broader fiscal cliff deal is hammered out. They worry that the top taxpayers will be left out in the cold, slowing down economic growth.

They used Friday’s report to emphasize persistently high rates of unemployment, with House Speaker John Boehner blaming Obama’s tax proposals for stalling economic growth.

Of course liberals will cheer the unemployment numbers. Maybe part-time and seasonal workers will bolster Obama's job numbers but it does little to help the middleclass of which Obama is so fond of reminding us is his main concern.

A good jobs report....no thanks to Congressional Republicans, who have done close to absolutely nothing to boost our national economy and boost job creation for the millions of Americans who are out of work or under-employed.

These jobs reports are a laugh riot. Always adjusted afterwards. If you work an hour in the period you're counted as employed. If you've been knocked out of the job market completely I guess you're supposed to be thankful you can at least contribute to a better unemployment figure.

At least we can be grateful that POLITICO is there to tell the whle story .

Of course liberals will cheer the unemployment numbers. Maybe part-time and seasonal workers will bolster Obama's job numbers but it does little to help the middleclass of which Obama is so fond of reminding us is his main concern.

And of course the doom and gloom zombies will continue to deny reality, and move the goal posts.....ever the more desperate to preserve the delusions they were fed.

This lying bunch of Communists should be on the cooking channel for the masterful way in which they serve up the"numbers" on employment figures. They fail to account for all those who through no fault of their own have either dropped out of the workforce,given up looking, are working part time,or have run out of benefits,and are not counted,which would give us a TRUE number north of 14%. These people STILL exist and they are STILL unemployed. Gallup has given a conservative, unajusted (THE RIGHT WAY TO DO IT ) estimate,yesterday,of 8.3% using the gov't. figures,and not counting these people as unemployed. If anyone believes these idiotic numbers the administration is trying to shove up our MMMMM,MMMM,MMMM, I have several lovely bridges over the Hudson River that I can let you have at a very reasonable price. How freakin' stupid do they think we (those of us who didn't vote for Obama ) are ??

These jobs reports are a laugh riot. Always adjusted afterwards. If you work an hour in the period you're counted as employed. If you've been knocked out of the job market completely I guess you're supposed to be thankful you can at least contribute to a better unemployment figure.

At least we can be grateful that POLITICO is there to tell the whle story .

No zombie. You are a laugh riot.

There is always some conspiracy to explain away your ignorance, naivete, and things you were told not to like.

The Marxist Democrats can celebrate the unemployment rate all they want but when you LOSE more people from the workforce than the number of jobs added AND WHEN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WORKING FALLS AS MUCH AS THE NUMBER OF JOBS ADDED then we have an economy that is *STILL* falling further and further behind.

The labor market is not just stagnate!!! IT IS GETTING WORSE!!!!

From 2000 tto 2008 the number employed versus the population remained between 62% and 63%. In 2008 it fell to 58.5% AND OWEBUMMER HAS NOT BUDGED THE FIGURE IN OVER FOUR YEARS!!!!!

As the population continues to rise, staying at the same employment vs population percentage MEANS MORE AND MORE PEOPLE NOT WORKING!!!!

WHEN IS OWEBUMMER AND THE MARXIST DEMOCRATS GOING TO TAKE THE ECONOMY SERIOUSLY???????

Of course liberals will cheer the unemployment numbers. Maybe part-time and seasonal workers will bolster Obama's job numbers but it does little to help the middleclass of which Obama is so fond of reminding us is his main concern.

Disen.., Americans cheer that there will be more income coming to Americans this season, whether those jobs went to the very poor, the middle income earners or those above.., no matter the amount.., no matter who they may have voted for this past election... Be glad for Americans, Disen.., be glad for Americans... Don't just sit there and post partisan rhetoric... Your opinion that it ONLY went to part timers and seasonal workers makes you look petty, Disen.. Merry Christmas...

These jobs reports are a laugh riot. Always adjusted afterwards. If you work an hour in the period you're counted as employed. If you've been knocked out of the job market completely I guess you're supposed to be thankful you can at least contribute to a better unemployment figure.

At least we can be grateful that POLITICO is there to tell the whle story .

I see that your bitterness toward the Bush Administration has not dissipated ... hang in there ... the big-eared guy is fixing it ...